LOS ANGELES (September 5, 2007) – A new
Parents Television Council™
study of Family Hour programming conclusively shows that children
watching television during the first hour of prime time are
assaulted by violence, profanity or sexual content once every 3.5
minutes of non-commercial airtime. During the 2006-2007 study
period, almost 90% of the 208 television shows reviewed contained
objectionable content.

The PTC found that Fox is the worst broadcast network
overall, noting its 20.78 instances of violent, profane and sexual
content each hour -- nearly double the amount of similar content
shown on any of the five other major broadcast networks. Fox’s
American Dad took the cake for worst series overall based on the
alarming 52 instances of objectionable content that was packed into
each hour of programming. By contrast, the CW Network featured the
cleanest programming overall; and reality and game shows Deal or
No Deal (NBC), Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?
(Fox), Identity (NBC), and Grease: You’re the One That I
Want (ABC) were named the best overall due to the lack of foul
language, violence and sexual content.

According to PTC President Tim Winter, "Our study
clearly demonstrates that corporate interests have hijacked the
Family Hour from families. This early prime time block was
once reserved for programs the whole family could enjoy but it is
now flooded with shows that contain adult programming. The
Family Hour was once lauded by the entertainment industry and
members of Congress as a solution for parents who do not want their
children to be exposed to graphic content for at least one hour each
night. Shockingly, this data shows that parents cannot trust
what is on during the so-called Family Hour for even a minute."

During the Family Hour, viewers have been exposed to
visual depictions and verbal references to sexual content including
partial nudity and pixilated nudity, adultery, oral sex,
masturbation, pornography, anal sex, incest, violence, and a
plethora of curse words. Worst shows based on frequency of
inappropriate content include My Name is Earl on NBC that
contains more than 16 instances of foul language every single hour,
The War at Home on Fox with 33 sexual depictions or
references an hour and Fox’s 24 that features a whopping 28
occurrences of violence each hour.

By comparing this new 2006-2007 study period to a
former PTC Family Hour report covering the 2001-2002 television
season, the PTC found that incidences of sexual and violent content
have increased by 22.1% and 52.4%, respectively. In spite of an
overall decrease in foul language including words like "damn" and "crap" since 2001, broadcasters have greatly increased the
prevalence of harsh language obscured by bleeps or partial editing
such as "f-words" and "s-words."

"Also troubling is the adult themed programming
that the networks chose to re-air during the Family Hour, for it
contained 58% more objectionable content per hour than original
programming. These scheduling choices exposed young viewers to
content originally intended for mature audiences, an issue that
could be avoided if networks would keep their most objectionable
programming in later timeslots where it belongs," Winter
continued.

"The Family Hour needs to be restored. We
are calling on the broadcast industry to return to the time-honored
principle of airing mature-themed content only at later times of the
evening; and to provide parents with a consistent, objective and
meaningful content ratings system. We are calling on the advertising
industry to underwrite only time-appropriate content with their
media dollars. And we are calling on parents across the country --
and their public servants -- to speak out in defense of the Family
Hour," Winter concluded.

The PTC family hour studyexamined original
entertainment programs that aired on the six major broadcast
networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CW, and MyNetworkTV) for instances of
foul language, violence, and sexual content during the Family Hour
during three separate two-week "sweeps" periods throughout the
2006-2007 television season: November 2-15, 2006; February 1-14,
2007; and April 26-May 9, 2007.Tallied separately were 37.5 hours
of reruns airing during the Family Hour. The Family Hour time slot
includes programs with a start time between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Monday
through Saturday and between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Sundays, in the
Eastern Time zone.

Major Findings

In 180 hours of original programming, there were
2,246 instances of objectionable violent, profane and sexual
content, or 12.48 instances per television hour. Since the
average hour of primetime broadcast television contains about 43
minutes of non-commercial programming, this indicates that
content inappropriate for children occurs about once for every
3.5 minutes of non-commercial airtime.

Scripted television was by far the most offensive
overall with 16.68 incidents of overall foul content per hour,
compared to 0.31 per hour for game shows and 5.82 per hour for
unscripted programs.

Foul Language

Foul language was found in 76.4% of episodes that
aired during the study period. Whether scripted or uttered on a
reality program, foul language is found on almost every series
airing during the Family Hour.

Worst network for foul language: MyNetworkTV;
worst series for foul language: My Name is Earl (NBC).

Sexual Content

Throughout the study period, 677 sexual scenes or
spoken sexual references were recorded, or 3.76 per hour.

Since PTC’s 2000-2001 Family Hour study, the
incidences of sexual content have increased by 22.1%.

Sexual content on CBS increased from 0.34 per
hour to 2.31 per hour, a 579% increase.

Worst network for sex: ABC; worst series for sex:
The War At Home (Fox).

Violence

PTC recorded 754 violent acts and images during
the study period, or 4.19 per hour.

Since 2000-2001, violent content has increased by
52.4%.

Violent content on Fox increased from 2.16 per
hour to 11.37 per hour, a 426% increase.

The Parents Television Council™ (www.parentstv.org®)
is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment.
It was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence
and profanity on television and in other media. This national
grassroots organization has more than 1.3 million members across the
United States, and works with television producers, broadcasters,
networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and
negative messages targeted to children. The PTC also works with
elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast
decency standards. Most importantly, the PTC produces critical
research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex,
violence and profanity in entertainment. This information is
provided free of charge so parents can make informed viewing choices
for their own families.

Parents Television Council,
www.parentstv.org, PTC,
Clean Up TV Now, Because our children are watching, The
nation's most influential advocacy organization, Protecting
children against sex, violence and profanity in
entertainment, Parents Television Council Seal of Approval,
and Family Guide to Prime Time Television
are trademarks of the Parents Television Council.